Notes on a Scorecard - Aug. 21, 1995

I paid $49.50 to watch the Mike Tyson-Peter McNeeley fight on television Saturday night. . . .

But I won’t put it on my expense account. . . .

I don’t want to rip off my employer. . . .

Hey, I expected the fight to last less than a round. . . .

I was hardly alone. Forty-nine of the 50 writers polled by the Las Vegas Review-Journal predicted that Tyson would win by knockout within two rounds. The other picked Tyson in the third. . . .

But I thought Tyson would dispatch McNeeley with a vicious left hook, a wicked right cross, or a rapid-fire combination. . . .

Instead, it was McNeeley’s faint-hearted manager who did the job by climbing into the ring. . . .

Some furious finish. . . .

Even Tyson, who said he didn’t think he landed any hard punches, was surprised when Vinny Vecchione got McNeeley disqualified after the second knockdown. . . .

There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground in boxing. Too many cornermen either allow their fighters to take terrible beatings round after round or deprive them of any chance of making a respectable showing by throwing in the towel prematurely. . . .

The national anthem, clocked at 2:36, lasted a lot longer than the 1:29 fiasco. . . .

So did the pre-fight hype on TV. . . .

There were 35 minutes between the end of the Bruce Seldon-Joe Hipp bout and the start of Tyson-McNeeley. . . .

For $49.95, I was subjected to an interview with that famous fight expert Michael Crawford, who happens to be appearing in a show at the MGM Grand, and ads for fight souvenirs. . . .

After the main event, commentator Sugar Ray Leonard described it as a “black eye” for boxing. . . .

This touch of honesty was followed immediately by the offer of a T-shirt, cap, and program, all for the bargain price of $44.95, to commemorate “this extraordinary event.” . . .

The question now is what kind of prices TV viewers and MGM Grand customers will be asked to pay for Tyson’s next appearance on Nov. 4, the same night Riddick Bowe is scheduled to box Evander Holyfield up the street at Caesars Palace. . . .

Tyson’s opponent is expected to be Buster Mathis Jr., a slight upgrade from McNeeley. . . .

Until last week, George Foreman was convinced that he didn’t fit into Tyson’s plans. . . .

But Foreman got word that Tyson was trying to convince promoter Don King to let him participate in what would be a bout matching former undisputed heavyweight champions. . . .

Foreman told his promoter, Bob Arum, to renew negotiations with vigor. . . .

*

How can the Dodgers look so good early in the week and so lousy late in the week? . . .

Their loss to the NL Central-leading Reds at Cincinnati was understandable, but not the three consecutive defeats to the NL East cellar-dwelling Mets at New York. . . .

Hideo Nomo’s three most prominent pitches are the forkball, the fastball, and the gopher ball. . . .

One of the worst jobs of fight scoring ever was turned in Saturday night by Omar Minton of Mexico, who had countryman Miguel Angel Gonzalez beating World Boxing Council lightweight challenger Lamar Murphy by eight points. In reality, it was a very competitive match and Gonzalez was penalized two points for low blows. . . .

Bruce Seldon, the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion, brings the same enthusiasm as Michael Moorer into the ring. . . .

Don’t try selling Ki-Jana Carter on the good points, whatever they may be, of artificial turf. . . .

The annual track and field classic at Zurich, Switzerland, drew a capacity crowd of 25,000, even though the cheapest ticket was $100. Just shows what a $4-million talent budget can do. . . .

The Riviera Country Club golf course, which has been closed since the day after the PGA Championship, will be reopened today for Jerry Buss’ annual celebrity tournament benefiting the YMCA. . . .

USC Coach John Robinson says, “We’ll have very physical practices, good players versus good players.” . . .

Monica Seles looked awesome winning the Canadian Open, but it was too bad that Steffi Graf didn’t get to test her. . . .

Trainer Jenine Sahadi has become a force on the nation’s toughest circuit. On Saturday, her Lit De Justice won the $103,525 Pat O’Brien Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Del Mar. Then she claimed Almost A Brother, who won his eighth consecutive race. . . .

If you tune in a Dodger telecast late and see Joey Amalfitano or Manny Mota being interviewed on the postgame show, you don’t have to guess who won.